Course Areas: Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law
International Law

Time:4:00p-6:00p TLocation:144 TU2

Course Outline: This course will focus on U.S. federal law criminalizing various forms of “public corruption.” We will begin with a general discussion of what “public corruption” means, including recent high-profile cases as examples. We will then address specific forms of public corruption and the statutes that attempt to define them, including: bribery; illegal gratuities; extortion; mail and wire fraud, especially “honest services” fraud; conflicts of interest; election-related crimes; campaign finance and lobbying; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and false statements and obstruction of justice. Each class we will address one specific form of public corruption. And each class, one student will give a five minute presentation explaining a cutting-edge legal issue relevant to the public corruption topic or statute addressed that day. The course will end with a discussion of various trial and sentencing issues that arise in public corruption cases, and finally, with presentations by guest speakers (likely a federal judge, a federal prosecutor, and a defense attorney).